The foundation is honoring Litchman for her outstanding accomplishments in the field of community and ecosystem ecology.

"The news of the award was both surprising and exciting," Litchman said. "It is a wonderful recognition of my research that stimulates me to tackle novel questions in community ecology of phytoplankton.”

Litchman, who is also a professor at MSU's W.K. Kellogg Biological Station, is known for her research on phytoplankton communities. She focuses on community ecology of marine and freshwater algae and cyanobacteria, including the ecological and evolutionary responses of these organisms to global change. Litchman is also the lead principal investigator on a recently awarded $2 million grant from the National Science Foundation’s Dimensions of Biodiversity program, to investigate how the diversity of phytoplankton will respond to ocean warming.

“It’s exciting to see Elena recognized for her cutting-edge work on how differences in traits among algae affect their coexistence, and how this may be changing," said Kay Gross, director of KBS. "Elena is passionate about algae and has had the opportunity to study them around the world.”

As part of the award, Litchman has been invited to the GEOMAR Institute in Kiel this summer to collaborate with GEOMAR researchers, deliver a public lecture and teach a short graduate-level course. The award also includes a monetary prize of 20,000 Euros.

MSU will host 72 high school teams in Jenison Field House on Sunday, Feb. 24, for the 2019 Michigan VEX Robotics State Championships. Around 500 of Michigan's top STEM high school students will participate.